1st S-70i BLACK HAWK Helicopter Completes Flight Testing

The first S-70iTM BLACK HAWK helicopter has successfully completed production flight testing and will begin development and flight testing of options that will be made available to international customers.

The aircraft has flown more than 50 hours in its production flight test program. It will undergo extensive flight testing in the coming months as options are integrated into the aircraft.

“The next phase of the program will expand the capability of the aircraft, transitioning it from a baseline configuration to a multi-faceted platform,” said Debra A. Zampano, S-70i Senior Program Manager, International Military Programs. “The aircraft has performed to all program requirements and has made a smooth transition from its production build in Poland through Sikorsky’s rigorous flight test program in Florida. The next phase of development will produce a BLACK HAWK helicopter that the global marketplace has never seen before.”

The options that will be developed for the S-70i will enable customers to perform missions such as humanitarian relief, search and rescue, medical evacuation, command and control, and armed patrol. Deliveries to the launch customer of the S-70i helicopter program are slated to begin by mid-2011.

The S-70i helicopter utilizes a global supply chain and is the first BLACK HAWK helicopter ever to be assembled in Europe. The aircraft are being manufactured at PZL Mielec, Sikorsky Aircraft’s company in Poland.

-ASDNews

 

 

A400M Agreement Confirmed By Germany

Last Oct. 25, German government sources indicated that Germany will take only 53 of the 60 Airbus Military A400Ms originally on order.

A400M customers continue to chip away at the commitment of 180 units that was negotiated as part of a general settlement reached in March. With the U.K. planning to cut its commitment by three aircraft, the total program now totals 170 aircraft.

Possible additional expenses for flight management system (FMS) changes will have to be covered by French avionics specialist Thales, according to the sources. But a German defense ministry letter to leading Bundestag defense committee members says that industry has to come to a final agreement on the FMS matter.

Thomas Kossendey, Defense State Secretary, writes in the statement obtained by AVIATION WEEK that implementation of the March 31 heads-of-terms deal with the A400M nations turned out to be more challenging than expected. In his view, that is mainly due to the lengthy search for a compromise on the industry side and reworked planning for the FMS.

But the letter concludes that “significant progress has been made” since then, and negotiations on Oct. 1 “should finally have led to a breakthrough. After tough negotiations so far, an agreement with regards to critical aspects, particularly the financial ones, could be found according to the view of the nations.” Kossendey refers to talks involving the nations, the Occar arms procurement agency and Airbus Military.

An EADS official did not confirm the letter or any of the details, but said he was confident a deal could be reached before the end of the year.

The defense ministry believes that changes and additions to the 2003 industrial contract and further negotiations on the FMS will take the remainder of October. The German defense committee could then deal with the altered terms at a December meeting, according to the letter.

-aviationweek.com

-wikipedia.org